Maus PaperArt Spiegelman’s Maus, is a unique way of looking at history. Through the use of comics, Spiegelman allows the reader to draw their own conclusions within the parameters of the panes of the comic. Unlike reading a textbook in which the author describes every detail about the subject matter, comics allow for the reader to draw their own conclusions from the information given to them. Also by reading a serious comic such as Maus, we are able to break away from

Maus has an interesting way in approaching a historical account such as the relationship with his father and the Holocaust. One of the most interesting aspects of Maus is the way in which Spiegelman uses animals to distinguish the various races within the comic book. Apiegelman uses animals instead of humans because unlike humans, animals are universal in the way they appear and are not as complex. At the beginning of Maus, it was difficult to know what animal represented each of the races. However, after Vladek and his family enters Bielsko for Vladek’s factory business, it becomes clear who the main characters are and what each of them represent. (Maus I, 31) Thus, the mice represent the Jews while the cats are equivalent to the Germans. With these two animals in the same area is bound to create a disturbance of the peace within the community. Just like in real life, cats prey on mice, in comparison, the Germans were only doing what was instinctive to them, exterminate the Jews. It might sound harsh, but Spiegelman wants to make it clear that Germans were ruthless and careless in their actions during this time.

Not only did Spiegelman creatively used animals in his comic to show the instinctive behavior of the animals, but also to show that there was a kind of unity within the parameters of the different races, yet how disadvantaged some races were, such as the Jews. If Spiegelman were to use human like features in his comic book, we would be able to relate more closely with...

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...Yourself While Losing Yourself
When learning of the devastations of the Holocaust we are often only offered one side of the story, one view of the event, one account of the pain—that of the direct survivor. However, the effects of trauma live on forever, and stay with people even when they are not first-hand victims. In particular, there are children of Holocaust survivors or second-generation survivors whom face enormous difficulties as they come to terms with the horrendous plights faced by their ancestors. For Art Spiegelman, author of Maus, this was the struggle. Growing up with survivor parents exposed him to the presence and absence of the Holocaust in his daily life, causing confusion and great amounts of self-imposed guilt and blame. This havoc led to an underdeveloped identity early on—a lost and prohibited childhood, a murdered one. The effect of having survivor parents was evident in Art’s search for his identity throughout Maus, from the memories of his parent’s past and through the individual ways in which each parent “murdered” his search to discover meaning.
The Holocaust was so entwined with Art that it had to factor into his identity, however with such complexity Art was at a loss. With such an issue revolving around his life and those who raised him, he could not figure out how he fit into the horrors of the past along with the rest of his family. While aware of what happened during the Holocaust, Artie felt compelled to...

...The books Maus I and Maus II are biographical comic books written and illustrated by Art Spiegelman. In these books Spiegelman tells his father’s story of survival through the horrors of the Holocaust. Spiegelman simultaneously presents an inner story of the conflict between him and his father, Vladek Spiegelman as both he and his father try to come to terms with the past, and work to have a normal life. This feelings of tension and conflict suffered by Vladek and Art in Maus I and II is caused by a transitional and rebounding feeling of survivor’s guilt caused by Vladek’s passing down of his own guilt, Art’s guilt of neglect, and Art’s attempts to come to terms with his own guilt of survival.
Art and his father Vladek have a rocky relationship, this is apparent from the very beginning of the Maus I. They are distant, with Art not having seen his father for some time before he started making his book. This is because of the tension between Art and Vladek, it causes discomfort between them and arguments break out often. These volatile arguments, which are displayed in several cases, seem to be caused by almost anything. One example is Vladek spills the bottle of pills he is counting, and though it is his fault, he blames Art. (pg. 30, Maus I)
This tension that causes these arguments to occur has its roots in Vladek’s feelings of survivor’s guilt. In order to cope with these feelings Vladek transfers...

...forced to face many years ago. In The Complete Maus, renowned author and cartoonist, Art Spiegelman, creates flashbacks and real time dialogues that flow smoothly as he paints an ideal picture of the horrific events of Holocaust. Maus is a story written in present tense with past events retold through conversations between son and father, Artie and Vladek Spiegelman. Realities of the Holocaust are seen firsthand when Art, an aspiring artist, interviews his father about the Holocaust in an obvious attempt to seek answers to the mysteries of his father, suicidal mother, dead brother, and his life in general. Spiegelman fills his story with two main parts; the true story of a Holocaust survivor, and how the survivor progressed. The first explains Vladek Spiegelman’s experiences as a young Jewish man leading up to his imprisonment in Auschwitz. The second, references Vladek as an old man recounting his history to his son, and the complicated relationship between the two. It is a difficult process for both father and son, and through their progression, both men were dramatically affected by the Holocaust. Change in guilt and personality traits are seen throughout the story.
While Maus is the story of Vladek Spigelman’s experiences in the Holocaust, it is also much more. In many ways, the relationship between father and son is the central narrative in the book, and feelings of guilt are dealt extensively. Of the particular relevance in...

...How does his health figure elsewhere in the book?
When Artie comes to visit, Vladek is sorting pills and vitamins. In between stories, Vladek is constantly mentioning various health problems he has, and nearly has a heart attack later in the book.
2. How does Vladek become wealthy?
Vladek becomes wealthy through his textile shop and by marrying Anja.
3. What does Vladek see while travelling through Czechoslovakia?
4. Why does the artist place a swastika in the background of the panels that depict the plight of Jews in Hitler’s Germany (p. 33)? Why, on page 125, is the road that Vladek and Anja travel on their way back to Sosnowiec also shaped like a swastika? What other symbolic devices does the author use in this book?
Throughout Maus many symbolic devices are used, most notably, the inclusion of animal characters instead of human ones. Spiegelman places swastikas throughout the work to possibly convey the presence of the Nazis--they were inescapable for Jews in Europe.
PRISONER OF WAR
1. When Aritie refused to finish his food as achild, what did Vladek do? How does this characterize Anja’s leniency with her son?
When Artie refused to finish his food, Vladek would have him sit at the table until he finished it. Anja loves her son and is more forgiving, characterizing her leniency.
2. Why was Vladek’s father so reluctant to let him serve in the Polish Army? What means did he use to keep him out?
Vladek's father did not want him to serve in...

...Analysis of Maus I and II by Art Spiegelman
Maus, by Art Spiegelman, shows the trials and tribulations that the main character, Vladek, and his companions suffered during the Holocaust. No matter the situation, Vladek rises up to the challenge, and does the only thing he can do: live. For the Jewish people during that time surviving was a challenge and for those that actually survived was pure luck. Throughout Maus we find this survival in the portrayal of Vladek Spiegelman; father of the author. Vladek resourcefulness helps him survive because of his knowledge of different languages, skills to work on anything, and initiative to make trades with others allows him to survive the years that he was trap in the Holocaust.
Vladek played an active role in his survival during his time spent on different concentration camps. Although his resourcefulness was the most essential factor in his survival, his intelligence also played a role. Vladek could speak English, Polish, German, and Yiddish. His multi-lingual capabilities contributed to his survival in several instances. First, after Vladek and Anja were captured for trying to escape to Hungary, Vladek helped a Polish man write letters to his family. The letters had to be in German, and the man did not know how to speak German. The man, in return, shared his food packages with Vladek (Maus I, 156). Later, in Auschwitz, Vladek got on good terms with his polish block...

...Eleanor Stalick
English 101, sec DE
July 26, 2013
Final Draft
Essay 1 - Image Analysis on Maus
Some said they were too powerful, some said they were too different. Words like ‘inferior’, ‘outsiders’, and ‘scapegoat’ were their labels. Those not afraid of them would ask: Did you actually cause the Black Plague? What about the spread of AIDS in Europe? Did you kill Jesus Christ? Regardless of how peacefully they walked down the street, people would cross to the opposite side. Ever since the first recordings of Judaism in 1400 BCE, the Jewish people have been persecuted as a religion, and even as a race, but the largest case of this discrimination was certainly the Holocaust. In the case of the Holocaust, or World War II, which took place in the 1930’s and 40’s, the Jewish people were being blamed for causing the first Great War, or World War I. During this time, it seemed like all fingers pointed to the Jews; they had no where to turn but to other Jews. The average person closed their door when a Jew knocked. Not only hatred, but fear of association caused the public to turn their backs on this constantly bullied group of people. With the masses on standby, the President of Germany at the time, Adolf Hitler, led the Nazi Party to kill an estimated 6 million Jewish men, women, and children. “The sad and horrible conclusion is that no one cared that Jews were being murdered... This is the Jewish lesson of the Holocaust…” quotes former Prime...

...Nathalie Castro
Maus
Topics for Discussion: Comics Technique
In Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud argues that a face drawn with great detail can represent only one specific person, but that a face drawn with few details—a smiley face, for instance— could be almost anyone.
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Source: Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics (DC Comics, 1999): 31.
Describe the faces in Maus. Are they iconic (could be anyone) or particular (could only be Vladek)?
The faces in described in Maus are intensely descriptive and illustrated. For example, the Germans are drawn as cats, the Poles as pigs, Jews as mice, Americans as dogs, and lastly, the French were drawn as frogs. The faces could go either way; they could be iconic or particular. They could have the glasses like Vladek or they could look alike, like the prisoners at Auschwitz. It all depended on the relationship that Vladek had to the characters described in the graphic novel. Close friends or family were distinguished with details and traits that represented them, whereas strangers were plain and rarely given any special physical characteristics. All in all, the faces illustrated in Maus described and emphasized the importance of the individual characters that Vladek had encountered during the Holocaust.
What adjectives would you choose to describe Spiegelman’s artwork? Generally, comics artist draw their works twice the size of the eventual published product....

...﻿Spiegelman's Maus II is a graphic novel and I believe Spiegelman chose this format because it is the only way to discuss the Holocaust while simultaneously conveying the impossibility of doing such a task. The Holocaust was such a horrific event that there is no way of truly representing it. Spiegelman realized that everything is a representation. He also realized that representing every aspect of the Holocaust was something that simply cannot be done. It is impossible to capture something free of representation. Spiegelman wanted to write a story about the Holocaust but he was very cautious in his construction. Maus: Volume II is constructed with precise self-awareness and self-devaluation to tell to a story about the Holocaust, while also writing a story about the impossibility of trying to capture this tragic event within the extremely limited parameters of representation.
The plot of Maus II appears as a "frame story," or a story within a story. The graphic novel is not only a story about the Holocaust; it is a story that depicts Spiegelman writing his story about the Holocaust. This extensively self-conscious construction allowed Spiegelman to write a story about something as powerful and tragic as the Holocaust, yet still show his readers that his was merely a meager attempt at representing the unrepresentable. It was his goal to show that he in no way had the capacity to write a story that captured the pure essence of the...